The Golden Age of Hollywood . Tom Riddle

Chapter 12

Tom was looking at himself on a tarnished surface of an old mirror. He tilted his head to the left, then to the right, moved his wand from his right hand to his left and used the free hand to properly arrange curls on his forehead. Norma's reflection in the mirror was small, her torso rising from his right shoulder and was given a grayish hue, making her features distorted and difficult to make out. She stood there looking very serious, and Tom grinned, looking back at her. He turned around and walked away from the mirror, which was mounted on the wall.

Norma and Tom found themselves in the Room of Requirement again because Tom insisted on teaching her dueling. They were currently facing each other and standing ten steps apart. Norma crossed her arms on her chest.

"Well, teach me your secrets, master," Norma teased him, corner of her lip pulling up a little.

Shiver went down Tom's spine unexpectedly.

"Careful with calling me "master"," Tom said, smiling, "You don't know what that does to me."

Norma smirked in return.

"What? Would you rather call me "mistress"?" She asked.

"The "Dark Mistress" sounds nice, don't you think?" Said Tom and with a deliberate hand reached down and untucked the hem of his robe from his side, letting the fabric fall free.

Norma didn't say anything, only rolled her eyes. Tom went to stand by her side.

"Alright, let's get on with it," Tom went serious. "You duel well, so I will not teach you that. You will never have to duel, ever, I will make sure of that, you'll never be in combat, believe me. Now, I want to teach you useful magic, actual hexes and curses that work to hurt, maim, and actually disarm your opponent. Not the childish ones that you've been taught."

Tom snuck a glance at Norma's face, but she didn't seem put off by his words, rather curious. Good.

Tom raised his wand, the tip glowing faintly as he began to pace slowly around Norma, his voice steady and authoritative.

"First, we'll start with something simple. Did you know that an altered confundus charm can make the victim aware of the confusion and drive them mad? You see, there's no separation between dark and light magic, despite what dunderheads like Dumbledore say. A dangerous spell is just a regular one, but casted with enough precision, intent, and control."

Norma nodded, her eyes following Tom's movements.

Tom stopped pacing and positioned himself directly in front of her, raising his wand at a slight angle.

"This is a basic confundus charm, but we're going to cast it properly," he said, flicking his wand sharply. A jet of mustard colored mist shot from the tip, striking one of the mirrored walls. The spell rebounded, zipping across the room, flashing through multiple reflections before dissipating into nothing.

"Your turn," he said, stepping back and gesturing for her to take the lead. "Focus on where you want the spell to land and keep your wand steady. Go."

Norma raised her wand with determination. She mimicked Tom's movements, aiming at the same mirrored wall. With a flick of her wrist, she cast the charm. Similar mist burst from her wand, shooting toward the mirror. It bounced off the surface, ricocheting around the room in a similar pattern to Tom's spell. However, instead of dissipating, it veered back towards them, causing Norma to duck instinctively.

Tom stretched out his hand lazily, catching the spell mid-air with a simple protego.

"Not bad, but you need to control the spell's energy better," he said, his tone instructive rather than critical. "If you don't want it to come back at you, make sure your intent is clear. The spell should know its path."